14 Indian tier 2 cities become warehousing hub for 35 global brands

CBRE South Asia’s latest report titled, ‘Tier-II Cities: The Time to Shine’ highlights that nearly 35 major domestic and global retail brands entered 14 tier-II cities in the Jan-Sep’23 period, indicating a surge in warehousing activity in these locations. These 14 cities include Chandigarh, Jaipur, Indore, Goa, Mangalore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi, Guwahati, Bhubaneshwar, Vizag, Mysore, and Coimbatore. As per the report, several domestic and international retail brands, including Croma, Armani Exchange, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Reliance Smart, Tanishq, H&M, Marks & Spencer, GAP, Starbucks, Pizza Express, Under Armour, among others, have expanded their retail footprint to tier-II cities in Jan-Sep’23 period.
According to the report, the total retail stock in these 14 tier-II cities stood at 29 mn. sq. ft. as of Sep’23, with Jaipur, Lucknow, and Chandigarh each boasting retail stock ranging between 3 to 7 mn. sq. ft. The retail development in these cities has been a healthy mix of high streets and malls. The total retail supply recorded in these 14 cities has been ~2.4 mn. sq. ft. during Jul-Sep ’23. Top cities dominating supply addition during this period include Chandigarh, Jaipur and Lucknow. The total absorption across the 14 cities stood at 2.4 mn sq. ft. in Jul-Sep’23 period, led by Kochi, Jaipur, and Goa.